YES WE ‘CAN’ – West New York Police gathered canned foods and will distribute them to local churches to give to the needy for the holidays. He’s hoping to raise awareness because this year, more people are in need of food. To learn how to help, see www.hudsonreporter.com next Sunday, Jan. 10 and scroll down to “West New York news.”

This special issue of the Hudson Reporter newspaper replaces your regular weekly issues in Hoboken, Guttenberg, North Bergen, Secaucus, Jersey City, West New York, Weehawken, and Union City.

This issue is a “2009 Year in Review” issue, and the upcoming Jan. 3, 2010 issue will be a “2010 Preview” issue. The regular editions will resume on Jan. 10, 2010. Letters to the editor will resume that weekend as well.

The Midweek Reporter and Bayonne Community News will be publishing regular editions over these weeks, and there will also be news briefs in the special editions and on www.hudsonreporter.com. So check our website for more! If you have questions, suggestions, or news tips, call (201) 798-7800 or e-mail editorial@hudsonreporter.com.

See briefs below for information on our holiday deadlines and office hours.

Free concert in Weehawken by Fishtank Ensemble, ‘thrilling young act’

On Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 12:30 p.m., the Fishtank Ensemble will present its version of cross-pollinated Gypsy jazz for the UBS Atrium Series on the waterfront in Weehawken. This awesome band has been called “one of the most thrilling young acts on the planet” by LA Weekly. The Hudson Riverfront Performing Arts Center, Inc. (HRPAC) presents this series of free lunchtime concerts in the Atrium at 1000 Harbor Boulevard, in the Lincoln Harbor area.

Fishtank Ensemble is comprised of five virtuosic musicians who adhere to the traditions

and sometimes wild origins of the music which inspires them. The ensemble features a Californian native immersed in the traditions of flamenco, a violinist who learned his craft traveling through gypsy villages in Romania, the world's best slap bass player, an accordionist playing at break-neck speed, and a singer whose voice is, at times, reminiscent of Billie Holiday, Esma Redzipova, and/or Ima Sumac. Her stratospheric vocal register also allows her to imitate the sound of her musical saw (a very unique skill indeed!)

All performances for the UBS Atrium Series begin at 12:30 p.m. The concert is free and open to the general public. For more information, including directions, please visit the HRPAC web site (www.hrpac.org) or call the concert hotline at 201-716-4540.

Local towns receive state aid awards

According to published reports, 16 municipalities in the state received “extraordinary aid” awards which provide the towns additional financial resources. In order to receive the award the municipality must have demonstrated that they were under financial hardship that would increase without a significant rise in property taxes.

Guttenberg received $360,000 while West New York received $450,000, and Weehawken received $1.2 million.

According to the report, the total aid awarded in New Jersey was $13.83 million. Still, the total figure is about $500,000 less than what all the municipalities in the state received last year.

Roque responds to claim of deceased petitioners

Dr. Felix Roque, who is leading an effort to recall West New York Mayor Silverio “Sal” Vega, responded Monday to allegations of the two deceased people who signed petitions in favor of the recall.

Roque said Monday morning that of the two, one is alive and the other lied about who he was. Roque said Pedro Costales is alive and well and that he wished the town clerk or Vega's attorney had made sure of that before announcing that he was deceased. He said that after hearing of the reports, Roque went to the man's home with this circulator to verify whether he was alive or deceased.

Last week, town clerk Carmela Riccie released a report to both Vega and Roque stating that she rejected nearly half of the petitions submitted by Roque. The report included incidents in which two deceased people signed petitions. Vega then announced his attorney would file a formal request for a criminal investigation with County Prosecutor Edward Defazio and State Attorney Anne Milgram regarding the incidents.

Keep following the Reporter for more updates on this story.

Mass for mysterious Hoboken homeless woman Jan. 6

Because of outreach from the community, the three children of a Hoboken homeless woman, Minerva Hernandez Quinones – who also gave her name as “Maria” and “Carmen” – were located and alerted that their mother had passed away. On Wednesday, Jan. 6, Our Lady of Grace Church in Hoboken will hold mass for her. The time has not yet been arranged, but you can find out by calling the church or by e-mailing or calling her daughter, below.

Quinones’s daughter, Elizabeth, has said that any donations of flowers would be appreciated, as her mother loved carnations.

Quinones became homeless approximately 30 years ago after her children were taken away by social services. She was mentally ill and wandered the streets of Hoboken off and on since then, although for stretches of time, she lived in Puerto Rico with relatives. Her children lost contact with her in the last 12 years and did not realize she had returned to Hoboken.

To read more about the story, see www.hudsonreporter.com and scroll down to Hoboken news.

27 High Tech students receive grant

The Young Science Achievers Program (YSAP), a nonprofit organization specializing in science, technology, and math education that will lead students to future careers, has given 27 High Tech High School students grants from the 2009-2010 school year.

Recipients include: Louis Guerra of North Bergen, Christopher Liu of Kearny, and Anant Tripathu of Jersey City for their “Effect of Cell Phone Radiation on Mice”; Madhavi Kulkarni of Jersey City for “Optimal Enviornmental Factors for Mold Development”; Morgan Mikhail of Kearny and Stephaine Chicas of West New York for “The Role of Genetics with Respect to the Weight Gain in Mice”; Justin Prasad of Bayonne for “Effects of Free Bioremediation”; Urvashi Sharma of Jersey City for “Does Tomato Juice Prevent Blood Clots?”: Valentina Paiva of Jersey City for “Assessing Pollution Levels in in the Meadowlands Using Soil and Water Testing”; Agustin Paneque of Secaucus and Javier Hernandez of Union City for “The Effects of Saturated Fats in Chicken Embryos”; Jennifer Pilamunga of West New York for “The Identification of Alkaloid and Steroids in Different Herbalife Products”; Maheen Javaid of Jersey City, Anastasia Murray of Kearny, Jake Ohring of Hoboken, and Sandra Talbot of Harrison for “Investigating Similar Plants by Chloroplast Sequencing”; Anna Hsieh and Shivam Naik of Kearny and Roma Shah of North Bergen for “Bacterial Genetics”; Daniel Aleman of Kearny and Rebecca Joyce of West New York for “Bacterial Cleaning Up Oil”; Hesham Elmariah and Krupa Patel of North Bergen and Jason Hong of Kearny for “Effect of Carbon Dioxide on Pollen Formation”; and finally, Anna Blazejowskyj of Bayonne and Crystal Shah of North Bergen for “Texting: the Addiction of America’s Teens.”

The grant offers up to $500 per project for two or more students involved, or a total of $250 for students doing individual projects.

YSAP also targets young women and males of African American, Hispanic or Native American descent in order to get underrepresented groups into science, technology, engineering and math career paths.